You can read everything that I’ve written here. I publish when I can, not so much lately. It’s mostly flash fiction but I publish some short stories as well. I hope you enjoy it.
The Precipice May 30th, 2020 - I stood on the precipice of the world. I looked down at the emptiness, at the void. My mind refused to accept the expanse and tried to fill it. Flashes, splotches and patterns filled my vision with vibrant color, which twisted and snaked and disappeared when I blinked, only to reform in a new configuration.…
Remember Me May 8th, 2020 - Remember me. Remember me when you are old. Remember playing in the yard and you took five steps for every one that I took. Remember sitting on my lap while I played piano for you; it was the only time I remember you being quiet. Remember making pancakes with me after begging for days and…
Hidden City September 29th, 2019 - Luna leaned against the window of the car as they drove, watching the drab people in their drab clothes walking down drab sidewalks. There were bags of trash piled up on the curb, the remains of old flyers stuck to every pole, and graffiti everywhere. They pulled into the parking lot of a strip mall…
Silence February 11th, 2019 - Everyday he bathes in poison because he is afraid of bugs. Everyday he covers himself in varnish because he is afraid of dirt. Everyday he surrounds himself with sound because he is afraid of silence. When he bathes in poison, he is also killing himself. When he covers himself in varnish he cannot touch the…
A Tragedy in Red April 29th, 2018 - It is February 18th. The yellows, greens, and blues of the stained-glass windows give color to the otherwise white flowers surrounding the black coffin. There is a minister speaking of love and family; the love Sam was given by his family, by blood and by marriage, and the love he surely would have shown his…
Shadows February 14th, 2018 - Despite having all of the lights on, there were shadows surrounding him, dancing on the edges of his vision. They moved slowly, sending tendrils toward with grasping hand trying to grab him before the tendrils thinned out, the hands breaking off and disappearing. He lay in bed, staring straight ahead, afraid to turn his head…
Dance with the Devil February 4th, 2018 - Katarina stood nervously in high heels and a sequined red dress. The room, which would normally be filled with the warmth of hundreds of people, was both empty and cold. High above her, the ballroom ceiling loomed in the darkness, and she could feel all of the empty space between her and the walls. There…
Float On February 3rd, 2018 - Claire was in her backyard, eating chocolate cake off of a small paper plate emblazoned with monster trucks. She was about halfway finished with her piece, although she had already licked the frosting off the little toy truck that had sat on top. Her friends had torn through their own cake, although they did not…
A Burning Compulsion January 30th, 2018 - Sam climbed over crumbled concrete, everywhere he touched came away black from soot and ash. The metal remains of furniture poked out in places, buried like twisted metal skeletons. There was no roof, and only a few steel beams standing like monuments in the corners to suggest that there ever was one. Sam shook his…
Dinner and a Glass November 26th, 2017 - Jake and Molly sit across from each other. Jake is wearing a suit. Black pants and jacket, but a bright blue tie. He had debated that morning wearing a black one, but he had felt like he was putting on a costume, being a g-man, an impartial observer. So he wore blue, it is the…
I wait September 8th, 2017 - I wait, safely, in my bunker at the bottom of the sea. In my bunker I have everything I want: I have games, and food. I have places to run, and places to sleep. I have books, too, down in my bunker. In the books I visit other places, meet other people. But only in…
Frozen Hilltop July 23rd, 2017 - I grew up next to a magic hill. From the top of it I could see practically into the next state. or so it felt. I don’t know what kind of magic it had, or why it had it; maybe an angel landed on it at some point, I don’t know, but I felt it:…
The Tide July 11th, 2017 - I walk with purpose toward the endless horizon before me. On my left and my right, the waves lap gently against the shore. The clay beneath my feet is dry and cracked. It’s been a long time since the last tide, but I can see the shoreline disappearing. The waves close in on me from…
Are you sure it will be okay? July 8th, 2017 - Dennis’s blood is bubbling up slowly from beneath my hands. It covers my arms and is all down my blouse. Dennis is trying hard to take even breaths like I told him to, but I can feel his stomach twitching in pain. He tries to speak. “Are… you sure… it will… be okay?” No. Never.…
Monsters July 6th, 2017 - I set out last week on a quest to slay monsters. They have been accused of banditry, of stealing livestock, and poisoning the river with their excrement. The evidence is convincing, the cause is just. As I have been traveling I have been thinking through my approach, refining it, perfecting it. It is likely the…
Monks June 8th, 2017 - In order to meditate properly, a monk must be able to eliminate all distractions. Each year the trainees will learn to ignore a specific stimulus, from loud noises, to cold, to pain. At the end of each year they are given a test; the masters will attempt to distract the students in whatever discipline they…
Fire in the Basement May 18th, 2017 - When I was leaving for work, the day before yesterday, I noticed that a small fire had started in the basement. I was already hustling to get to work on time. I decided to deal with it when I got home. The fire was still small, when I got off work. I didn’t have time…
Backstage May 14th, 2017 - Casey carefully goes through her finger exercises, limbering up each one in turn, making sure they’ll perform. She paces as she does them, and takes long, careful breaths to steady herself. She moves her head back and forth before switching to her arm warm ups. She picks up three balls, the soft beanbags are very…
Sand May 13th, 2017 - I walk with my arm in front of my face, my back hunched. The wind blows sand at me. The sand gets in my hair and my eyes. It sticks in the hair on my arms and legs and chest. My mouth has never tasted anything but grit. I stumble as the sand shifts under…
The Ultimate Point May 12th, 2017 - Two dozen or so men stand on the sidelines, they are divided evenly between white and red. They are a frenzy of action, pacing up and down, yelling, cheering, encouraging. That is the last role left for them. The field stands quiet in contrast. Just 7 men to a side, calmly discussing their last-minute strategy,…
Staying Awake May 11th, 2017 - The edges of the TV fuzz and then bleed. The black from the TV mixes with the off-white background of the wall to form a grayish puddle that oozes vertically up the wall. The screen inside, no longer constrained, develops odd neon patterns that move and pulse in time to the beat of some hidden…
Playing Piano May 10th, 2017 - Lola’s fingers danced over the piano keys, pulling out music that was alternately sad, and happy, rigid, and playful. She got to the end, where multiple themes were woven together to form something greater than any one individually. She was trying to juggle many melodies, playing something different with each hand, and her fingers got…
Fire in the Dark May 9th, 2017 - It was a warm summer when Jacob went for a hike in the woods. The birds sang overhead, and the insects chirped underfoot. He loved feeling like he was walking through a green tunnel, and that nothing existed in the world except for him. He had sturdy shoes on his feet and carried a backpack…
Old Memories May 8th, 2017 - Dust filtered down when I pulled down the ladder to the attic, and more of it was covering the l rungs. I should have brought a mask with me. The dust was even thicker at the top, covering everything in gray, thick ropes of it hanging in places. That was just how I remembered it:…
Sirens May 7th, 2017 - Evan walks around the house, unfamiliar in its cleanliness. The house he remembers had dirty, off-white walls, not wooden paneling. It smelled of old smoke and dirty laundry, not fresh air and flowers. The floors should be stickier, there should be cobwebs in the corners, cigarettes piled everywhere, the sounds of things scurrying across floors…
A Glimpse Isn’t Enough May 6th, 2017 - Marissa walked carefully down the brightly lit hallway. Her oddly patterned clothing made her stand out against the plain gray decor, but it did a great job of hiding her from the security system. The door that she stopped at said ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ but she ignored the sign, despite being neither authorized nor personnel.…
The Rain May 5th, 2017 - I lie on the cold grass. My head is tilted to the side, where I can see a pretty daisy swaying gently in the wind. I think if I looked away now, I would still see it, the image burned into my eyes. My ankles are crossed over each other. They’ve been there for so…
On the Edge May 4th, 2017 - I stand on the edge looking down. My clothes snap and pop in the wind. It’s a long way down to the bottom, where the people look like dolls, and the cars look like toys. The sounds of the city are just audible over the howling in my ears, but they are indistinct and indistinguishable,…
The Road May 3rd, 2017 - Pavement stretches out in front and behind me. To the sides there are fields and forests; an endless stream of green. The only breeze is from my own passage through the air, which whistles slightly in my ears. The pedals churn beneath my feet, my legs pumping: up down, up down, up down. I can see…
Lottery Ticket May 2nd, 2017 - Henry finished eating his pasta. Allison and Tanya had already finished, their places abandoned for whatever teenagers do in their room. Jamie was just finishing up. “When you’re done, bring your plate into the kitchen.” Henry took the container of parmesan, totally empty, even of the dust in the bottom. It hit the bottom of…
Brent May 1st, 2017 - Brent dug through the entrails, his hands slick with gore. “Where is it?” His right hand found something smooth and hard. “Yes.” His hand slipped as he tried to pull it off. He put both hands on it. It was stuck fast. He got his feet under him and pulled, but he slipped, falling backwards,…
Chasing Bubbles April 30th, 2017 - I used to chase bubbles as a child. Sometimes my brother would blow bubbles for hours, and I would go up and down the yard chasing them and watching them pop. My parents thought that he was being unfair, that he wasn’t giving me a turn. But it wasn’t that, I just loved chasing them.…
Libby’s Monster April 29th, 2017 - There was a monster that lived in Libby’s house. It didn’t live under her bed, and it didn’t live in her closet. Libby knew that because she could hear the door open when it came in. Libby had never seen the monster because it only came in Libby’s room at night, and it only came in…
Hall of Remembrance April 28th, 2017 - I leave the house with no particular plan. I walk through crowded streets. All the people look the same, like shadows, or ants. I cross a stone bridge so old that it is entirely worn smooth. I walk under an arch with words written in a language no people can read. I reach a large…
Say Goodbye April 27th, 2017 - A gun is pointed at my daughter’s head. The man with the gun speaks, “Say goodbye.” He wants me to say goodbye to my daughter. “Tell her it’s going to be okay.” A gun is pointed at my daughter’s head. “Reassure her. She needs that right now.” What do you say to someone who has…
Time House – Future (part 3) April 26th, 2017 - Paul found himself in a featureless white room. It was similar to the Present, except that it didn’t have any pillars, and it was only about ten feet across.
Time House – Past (part 2) April 25th, 2017 - Everywhere Paul looked there was just more stuff, stretching forever.
Time House – Present (part 1) April 24th, 2017 - Paul was sitting on his couch in his living room, contemplating life, when a man appeared in front of him. There was no puff of smoke, or bolt of lightning, but where there was no man before, suddenly there was a man. Paul was startled. “Who are you? What’s going on?” “I am the Lord…
Gene’s Nice House April 23rd, 2017 - Gene lived in a very nice house, on top of a very nice hill. The hill was nice in the ordinary ways that hills are nice, it was not too steep, it had a tree to provide shade, and in the spring, wildflowers would grow on it. The house was also nice in the usual…
Thomas the Monster Hunter – Part 2 April 21st, 2017 -
"Hey.”
Thomas jumps up and trips over a branch, his legs fly into the air as he lands on his butt.Lenny April 20th, 2017 - Stride, stride, turn. Stride, stride, turn. Lenny needed to keep the bomb in his head from exploding, needed to keep it moving, made it tick slower. Sometimes thinking helped too. Thoughts racing was the same as feet racing. All that mattered was movement. Always movement. He went to his kitchen and opened the fridge. The…
Dave’s Eureka April 19th, 2017 - It was an otherwise normal day when Dave finally solved it. Writing it all down was difficult because he was practically dancing in his chair. This is the key, he thought, this will change everything. He was smiling from ear to ear, his eyes were bright. After all this time, he thought. When he got…
The Mirror April 18th, 2017 - When you look in the mirror, what do you see? What flaws is your face hiding? What secrets do those eyes hold? When I look in the mirror, I see a person. It’s not me though. I don’t look like someone took skin and laid it over pebbles. I don’t resemble a satellite photo of…
Three Graves on Mars April 17th, 2017 - Ursula was standing in a pit up to her waist. It was about three feet across and about six feet long. She stuck her trowel in the red sand, and scooped a meager amount onto the pile to her right. On her next attempt, the trowel nearly fell out of her stiff gloved hand when…
Gregor April 16th, 2017 - Gregor strolls to a corpse lying on the ground. Its head had been pulverized into the ground, the spine broken and useless, pieces of skull radiated out like a starburst. Gregor gathers the corpse’s legs together, and with one hand grasped behind its knees, he lifts it casually to his shoulder. As he walks to…
Missy and the Alarm April 15th, 2017 - Missy sat on her porch drinking lemonade. She was enjoying it, even though it wasn’t fancy lemonade, made from fresh squeezed lemons, or even the stuff which came ready made in a bottle. Her lemonade had come from frozen concentrate which she had emptied into a pitcher and then poured water into to reconstitute. But…
Do It, You Know You Want To April 14th, 2017 - I wake up slowly and to a lot of pain. My head is throbbing with every heartbeat, and with every beat comes a flash of light against the back of my eyelids. The floor underneath me is hard and cold. I can’t tell anything else about it; my hands feel prickly, like they are just…
Thomas the Monster Hunter – Part 1 April 13th, 2017 - Thomas is the youngest monster hunter he knows.
Elsie in the Graveyard April 12th, 2017 - Elsie walked over to her favorite tree, and sat down in her favorite spot, which was just big enough for her to cross her legs. She had a new book today, one with a dragon on the cover. She liked books with dragons on the cover.
Dad? I, Want To Go Home, Now April 11th, 2017 - There are 12 billion people on Earth. But only 10 billion will get to leave, give or take a few thousand. There’s surprisingly little panic, at least this early. Everyone continues to work. Because as long as they work, they have a chance. 12 billion people. 10 billion slots. They leave 10 thousand at a…
Liam April 10th, 2017 - There was nowhere to go. Liam was stuck in the control room, all by himself. He wasn’t prepared for this, but he sat down in front of the control panel anyway.
Beetles April 2nd, 2017 - Alex stared at the bread. She was afraid to look away. She knew that it could happen at any moment. At any moment they would hatch. In her right hand she held a glass. She was waiting. She could wait. At any moment the eggs would hatch and millions of beetles would start swarming all…
Matt's Scribblings 